The Valley Quilters' Guild, Inc. was formed in 1985 to promote quilting in the Matanuska Valley. We currently have a membership of over 200.

Our main objectives are service to our community and the education of quilters. We serve the community by donating quilts to organizations and groups that approach us with their needs. Our members also let us know of needs in the community. We also give quilts to the victims of fires.

Meetings:
Valley Quilters Guild General Membership meetings are held at the Palmer Railroad Depot on the FIRST THURSDAY of EVERY MONTH @ 7 PM unless otherwise noted. Most meetings last approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hrs, depending on the program and how many show & tell projects are shown!

June Sew for Service and Potluck:
The Service Committee's annual Sew for Service on June 5 was very successful. Attendees worked on quilts, walker and wheelchair bags, and dog beds. All of these items will be donated to the community. Due to the generosity of businesses and individuals, all the attendees received door prizes. We would like to thank the following businesses and individuals who made this possible: Active Soles, Amore Hair Design, B. Bella Hair Design, Back County Bicycles, Blueberry Moose Espresso, Carrs Safeway, Dina's Cozy Cabin Quilts, Ewetopia, Fantastic Fibers, Fireside Books, Fred Meyer, Hot Chocolate Shop, Just Sew, Madd Matters, P M Quilting, Quilt Tree, Quilted Raven, Riehl's Sew 'n' Vac, Seems Like Home, Shane Lamb Studio, Sidekicks, Slack's Sugar Shack, Stacy at Country Cutts, Stamp Cache, Sylvia's Quilt Depot, Turkey Red, Valley hotel, Vagabond Blues, Service Committee Members Mary Lou & Mr. Mary Lou, Judy, Meg, Patty, and Barbara.

Between January 1 and April 30 the Service Committee distributed 72 quilts, 10 walker bags, and 76 dog beds. Recipients include the State Troopers, Palmer Police, Palmer Senior Center, Red Cross, AK Family Services, MatSu Services for Children & Adults, American Cancer Society, Borough Animal Shelter, and Dog & Puppy Rescue in addition to several fire victims in the Valley. There are also two Service quilts temporarily on display at the Palmer DMV.

OPEN SEW: 10am - 12 midnight
The guild offers one Saturday a month, usually the second Saturday for all members where we get together and work on projects & service & classes are offered. For July Marlene Fuller will teach the BB Bag.
Raffle Quilt: The committee will work on the 2011 raffle quilt during the July open sew.

Alaska State Fair: The State Fair will take place from August 26 – September 6. Members are encourages to come and sew at the Irwin Bldg. during the fair. You will get an entry ticket and a parking pass each day you volunteer. If you are a senior, let Sharon know so she can get tickets as a reduced price. Quilts may be picked up after the Fair on Tuesday, Sep. 7 and on Saturday Sep. 11. Quilts turned in, in Anchorage, must be picked up in Anchorage; those turned in at the Fairgrounds must be picked up at the Fairgrounds.

Fair Booth: Co-chairs, Sharon Horwath and Marcia Healy, encourage members to make items for sale at the fair booth. There will be items from the Service committee that can be used to make items for the Fair Booth. Those items will be available at the July meeting. Mary Thompson donated some of her landscape patterns that can be used to make items for the booth. They can be returned to the committee or purchased. Items can be turned in any time. The stores in Anchorage can be used as drop-off points until Aug. 4. Last day for turn-in here will be during the August 5 meeting. Sign-up sheets for working in the booth were available. You receive an entry ticket and parking pass when you volunteer. The guild pays for these tickets, so if you can use
a senior ticket, or if you have a ticket from another source, we can save some money. Alice Sims reported that there have been 74 quilts photographed, belonging to 27 guild members.

Supplies are available for anyone who would like to help, during open sews. Items priced between $10 - $25 seem to sell well. Some suggestions are: pin cushions, purses, pot holders, baby quilts, thread catchers, aprons, etc. Funds raised through the sale of these items support the operating expenses of the guild. Funds raised by the raffle support education and the library.

Please come in to Open Sew to help sew items for the fair booth.  The fair committee will be at the depot and have some project ideas and materials for all members to sew for their fair donations.  Service will have fabrics for our use (or you can bring your own).  All you need to bring is your sewing machine and sewing talents so you can create a donation or two for the fair booth. 

We appreciate any donations you can offer. Donations can be turned in any time, but the final deadline is Aug. 5 guild meeting, or 6p.m. Aug. 5 for valley quilt stores; or 6p.m. Aug 4 for Anchorage stores.

Lynn Gronlund encourages us to sell raffle tickets. The quilt will be on display at the Fair Booth, during the Fair.

President’s Challenge: Mary issued her President’s Challenge for the Fair booth. The theme is, “Imagine if…”. She challenged us to make a quilt or wall hanging with this whimsical theme. An example is, 'Imagine if moose could fly'. Everyone who meets the challenge will have their name in a drawing for a prize provided by Mary. The deadline for submission is the Aug. 5 meeting.

DMV Quilts: For April - June I would like to hang Western Themed Quilts. Thank you, contact Lisa Humphreys

Classes:
Classes scheduled for 2010 are listed below. You may register and pay for classes at the monthly meetings. Unless an instructor has limited the size of the class, all classes are limited to 20 students. Registration for classes is open for the three months prior to the class date. Don’t wait to sign up or you may find that the class that is full. Registration fee is $10.00 for teachers who are mem­bers of the Guild and $40.00 for visiting teachers. All classes begin at 10:30 a.m.

2010 Fat Quarters:
Bring your fat quarters to the monthly meeting to win the pot!
Patterns here.
January - Blue
February - Black and White
March - Batiks
April - Pastels
May - Animal Paw Prints
June -Floral
July - Red,White, and Blue
August - Fruit and Vegetable
September - Leaf Prints
October - Fall Colors
December -White and Cream

The Yo-Yo pattern is also known by its British name, Suffolk.